When Your Child Comes Out, The Family Dynamic Changes

When
your teen comes out, let your child take
the lead.Don’t try to talk him
out of being gay, calling it a “phase” and don’t attempt to change his sexual
orientation by referring him to conversion(gay-to-straight ) facilities.Who knows better?

So,
what should you do?For once, let
your child educate you about what
it’s like to be gay, bi, lesbian, transgender.Find out how he feels about being non cis-gender and how he
envisions his future.

This
is not to say that you should “throw your hands up in the air.”You don’t want to shirk your parental
responsibilities.Your child needs
you more than ever now.Show love
and support.

You
can model responsibility by:

·Making sure they not only know about safe sex (as you would your
heterosexual child), but know where testing sites are for sexual diseases.
Advocate for sexual education that includes information directed at the LGBT
community.(Most sex education
courses in schools are not inclusive).

·Take your child’s pulse frequently.Is he happy at school?Is he being bullied?If so,
know the proper channels to get satisfaction for the problem.